Wait 1 Year for Buick’s Electric SUV

Buick Electra E5 Debuts in China, EV in US by 2024.

It appears that after a long wait, Buick is ready to “fully” unveil its electric vehicle for the Chinese market. On April 13, the 2024 Buick Electra E5 will make its debut. This model marks the first Buick to be based on the General Motors Ultium platform, as opposed to the Chinese-market Velite models. The fact that Buick has trademarked a variety of Electra names in the US suggests that this could become an EV sub-brand, although the Electra E5 is only confirmed for the Chinese market.

“While China is gearing up to launch the Electra E5 (in China only) next week, there aren’t any plans to show or reveal Buick EVs in the US any time soon,” said Buick spokesperson Stefan Cross to CarBuzz. “Our first North American-based EV will be unveiled and released in 2024 – so it looks like Americans will have to wait for an electric Buick.”

Although GM is a United States-based company, the E5 will be fabricated at the SAIC-GM Wuhan Ultium plant situated in China. If the electric car is manufactured there, it would render Buick ineligible to receive the federal tax credit of $7,500. Bearing this similarity between the Electra E5 and its Ultium counterparts — namely, the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Blazer EV — in consideration, it appears reasonable that Buick could build either the car or something comparable to it in North America for domestic use.

It is quite evident that there is a lack of enthusiasm among people in our area for the Buick brand. On the other hand, it flourishes greatly in China. This implies that there is necessity for something extra stimulating to captivate the attention of people here significantly.

Apart from the impressive Wildcat, a concept only, Buick’s selection has no thrilling fresh products to attract prospective purchasers into dealerships. No surprise then that the marque’s US sales decreased by 42.43% in 2022. The Electra E5 appears to be a premium offering that might initiate people to start talking about Buick again. In China, it’s available in standard, long-range and Avenir tiers, with the latter applying an 80 kWh battery pack. A 68.4 kWh pack is also ready for selection.

The newly unveiled E5 features a groundbreaking freeform EYEMAX OLED panel measuring 30 inches, similar to the Cadillac Lyriq. We fervently anticipate that when Buick introduces its electric car to the United States market in 2021, it will boast an interior comparable to this one.